Victorious
by chaosandcreationinthebackyard
Summary: Set in an AU where Merlin gets a second chance. The problem is, he doesn't know it. What will he do differently this time? Set in season two. I suck at summaries but it's definitely worth the read :)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is my latest story. I hope you guys enjoy it. Reviews make me happy :)**

Arthur watches as her body falls hard, blonde curls splayed out around her head, eyes staring lifelessly into the sky. It was a shame. Arthur thought. She was amazing with a sword, if her sword hadn't fallen at the last minute, she would have easily beaten him. He was ashamed to have killed a woman, to have taken advantage of her not having her sword but he knew that that had been his only chance. '_You should have spared her, you had no quarrel with her.' _Arthur's conscience spoke. The voice often sounded like Merlin, the voice, even though it sounded like Merlin, was right. She didn't have to die.

* * *

Morgana watched the body thud onto the ground, blonde ringlets dancing about her head like a fiery halo. Deep in her head, deep in the darkest corner of her mind, something was screaming. Screaming like a wounded animal trying to escape a cage. What ever it was sounded insane, it scared Morgana that even the smallest bit was screaming profanities into her mind. Something about the woman, Morgause, she thought, had drawn her to her. It was gone now as the woman was dead. She turned to look at Merlin. '_How odd.'_ She thought. He was frowning and muttering to himself. He shook his head and stood up. He walked away towards Arthur, no doubt to receive an impossible load of chores and finish them all by tomorrow by some miracle.

* * *

'_No this is all wrong. She wasn't supposed to die.'_ Merlin thought. He had no idea how he knew that but he was sure that it was true. The woman had had magic, he was certain, but he had no proof that she used it for evil. Or that she had even planned on harming the Prince. He felt awful, he wasn't sure why he did it. Something deep in his head roared up and took control, before he knew it, his eyes were golden and Morgause's sword was on the ground, giving Arthur a clear shot at her chest. He had watched in awe and then horror as Arthurs' sword pierced the woman's' heart. Merlin had just unofficially killed someone, someone innocent. As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, something lurking in the deep crevices of his mind, was purring with pleasure at the murder of the woman.

* * *

Arthur kept on dreaming about a fight. A fight with his father, about magic, he feels like he should be angry at him. He _is_ angry at him. The only problem is, he has no idea why. He keeps on having the weird surges of emotion. Just the other day he was talking to Merlin and he had this urge to hug him and never let go. He beat himself up eternally until. _that_ thought was gone. The other day he had bumped into Guinevere and he wanted to tell her he loved her, which was completely absurd, how could a Prince love a handmaiden? The strangest feeling he had had was betrayal. He had been seated at the dinner table with Morgana and Uther, and Morgana and Uther had started bickering. Arthur looked into Morganas' eyes and there was this little glint in them that made him knock his chair over and clutch his head. The intertwined emotions were too much. He was feeling so much towards the girl, there was pain, loss, anger, hatred, but the worst of all was the betrayal. It ran so deep in his mind and it was so sudden that he cried out. When Morgana reached out a hand to comfort him, he recoiled in disgust.

"Don't touch me!" He spat out, he then promptly ran out of the doors. He ran all the way to his chambers. He didn't bother undressing, he threw himself onto his bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Dinner had been a quiet affair. Everything had been going fine until she and Uther had started bickering. He had executed a woman yesterday because she had use her magic to heal a small, wounded child on the street. Morgana of course had argued. How is it fair that a woman who was helping an orphan gets executed. The worst part was, Uther had decided to execute the child too. Consorting with a sorcerer is a crime upon pain of death. She had been so furious when she heard of the private execution that she started yelling. It was getting heated when Arthur jumped up, knocking his chair over, clutched his head and cried out in pain. He knelt down on the floor, still clutching his head. Morgana had bent down to see if he was all right but Arthur had recoiled and looked at her with a mixture of hatred and disgust.

"Don't touch me." He said venomously, he then ran out of his room. Morgana had stayed frozen. Uther was still staring transfixed at the door his son had just run out of. Morgana then stood up stiffly, mask in place, emotions in check, and marched out of the room, ignoring Uther calling for her to come back.

Morgana walked calmly to her room, shut the door and locked it. That's when she started crying. Arthur had looked at her with such disgust, it hurt. She walked over to her bed and thumped down onto it. She didn't even undress or get under the covers, she fell fast asleep.

Morgana felt awake, but she knew she wasn't, this was one of her dreams. Her realistic dreams that she knew told the future. The visions came in flashes. She saw Morgause placing a spell on her, Merlin handing her a flask of water, watched as Merlin held her as she died from the poison she slipped him, watched as she was saved by Morgause, brief images of Morgause teaching her magic, returning to Camelot, nearly killing Uther, trying to kill Merlin, and of successfully taking the throne of Camelot… For about five days. She saw Arthurs' betrayed face, the same one she saw today, Uther's heartbroken one, Gwen's disappointed look, the most prominent of all was Merlins'. His face bore so many emotions, it was a miracle that it didn't crumple with the weight of it. On the first layer you saw the anger and disappointment, on the next layer, pity but the one that was hardest to see was the self loathing. It was as though it were all his fault. Suddenly the face transformed. It was exactly the same face but several years older. It opened it's mouth to speak.

"I blame myself for what you've become but this has to end."

She woke up in a sweat, scream dying fast on her lips. She twists around in bed and proceeds to be sick on the floor by her bed. She wiped her mouth on her bedsheets, someone will come in and clean that up. She can't be worried about that now, she needs to understand. She doesn't feel as though that _is_ the future but rather that that _was_ the future. She untwists herself from the sheets and gets out of bed. She walks over to the window, it's still dark out. It must be in the early hours of the morning. She heads over to the door and pokes her head out. The hallway is silent and dark. She slips out, bare-footed and runs down the hallway. Sh slows down at Gaius' chambers and puts her ear to the door. It's silent. She pushes open the door silently and darts across the room. Gaius is sleeping in his bed, snoring lightly. She doesn't want to see Gaius though, she's here to see Merlin. She tip-toes up the stairs to Merlin's room. She presses her ear to the door and listens for a sound, nothing. She walks into Merlins' room. She looks around, it's very small, only one window. She walks over to his bed and shakes Merlin awake. He won't wake up though. That's when Merlin's head fell off. Morgana stifled a scream and then a groan when she realized it was only a pillow. Confused, she pulled the sheet back to reveal a clever set of sheets made to look like Merlins' body. She took a few steps back and noticed a creaky floorboard. She stepped on it a few more times and then bent down to open it up.

* * *

Merlin groaned as he pulled himself off the ground. The sorcerer hadn't been hard to beat, Merlin hadn't cast a single spell, one of the sorcerer's spells had bounced off a wall and hit him. The poor man had exploded, sending Merlin sprawling on the floor. The man had had no idea what he was doing. Merlin dusts himself off and limps back towards the castle. He stumbled up the stairs to the physicians chambers and nearly fell through the door, catching himself before he did. He manoeuvred his way through Gaius' chambers with expertise and slipped into his room. He rests his forehead on the door then turns around.

The sight that meets his eyes is perhaps the single most alarming sight he had ever seen. There stood Morgana, frozen, eyes wide with his magic book wide open and halfway read in her arms.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked sadly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all the reviews :) I'll try and get chapters up every 2 or 3 days but no promises, school is ending so life is getting busy.**

Why does _Merlin_ have a magic book? '_Maybe he planned on giving it to you?' _Morgana thought to herself. She opened it up, it was well used, looked to be ancient. She took a seat on Merlin's bed. There were so many spells. There were some marked with words, words in english. It marked how the spells were used and occasionally the pronunciation. The words were so much like Merlin that she just knew it was his. Why had he never told her? She was going to put the book away and leave but it was just so interesting.

There must be a spell for everything. Spells for vanishing blemishes, a spell for conjuring spiders, a spell for curing the common cold… This was so interesting. She flipped through more pages until she found an interesting spell, a spell on controlling visions. She immediately thought of her dream from the previous night. She definitely didn't want one of those again. She was going to practice now but thought of Gaius in the next room and ripped the paper out of the book. Shoving it in her pocket she stood up. she froze as the heard the door to Merlins' room break open and Merlin himself stepped in.

He had his back to the door, Morgana wanted to hide but his room was so small there was nowhere to go. Merlin sighed and turned around. He froze**,** an expression of panic on his face. '_What's he so afraid of?' _Morgana thought. Was he really afraid she would turn him in?

"Why didn't you tell me?" She decided on asking. She did feel betrayed, she had just recently discovered her own magic. It would have helped her so much to have another magic user to help her and sympathize.

"I wanted to. I just… I don't know I was afraid." He stuttered out. Morganas' face softened, she understood being afraid of someone discovering her magic but still, she had told him. That had taken a great deal of effort, she had trusted him above everyone else, even Gwen. Did he not trust her?

"Don't you trust me Merlin? I have magic too, I would never betray you." She spoke softly.

"I know, it's just that all my life, I've been taught to hide my magic from everyone. I really wanted to tell you, I came really close to telling you but in the end I was a coward. I let you suffer alone even though I could have helped." He spat out.

"Wait, what do you mean all your life? How long have you been practicing magic?" Morgana asked curiously.

"I didn't start practicing magic until just after I came to Camelot." Morgana frowned.

"Then what did you mean by all your life?" She asked confused.

"I was born with magic, could use it before I could walk. Was never much good at controlling it though." He shrugged.

Morgana gaped at him, she had never heard of someone being born with their gifts, he must be incredibly powerful.

"Merlin, how many others have been born with magic?" She asked tentatively.

"No one." Morgana gasped. She thought about how lonely she had felt over the past few weeks and realized that Merlin had felt that way since birth, had feared himself, hated himself, never truly fitting in. Morgana enveloped him in a hug.

"You poor thing, you must have been so lonely." Merlin was slightly uncomfortable, he wasn't used to sharing his secret, having people pity him.

"It's okay now, Merlin. You have me." She said, gazing into his eyes. Merlin nodded.

"I can teach you." Merlin said. "If you want, that is. He hastily corrected.

"Of course!" She said, eyes alight in wonder.

"We'll have to be careful though. You're the Kings ward, people will pay more attention to you than me, it's easier for me to slip under their radar." Morgana nodded, face becoming more solemn.

"You have to promise me something Morgana." Merlin said in an almost commanding tone.

"Anything." Morgana breathed, excitement coursing through her veins.

"You mustn't use your magic for evil. Darkness consumes even the lightest of hearts." He said sounding over a hundred years old. Morgana nodded, face falling. She realized that most of the evil magic users that attacked the king were only acting out because of the ban on magic and what Uther did to those who were found out. She shuddered to think of all the men, women and children that had been needlessly slaughtered, most probably not even possessing magic.

If that's how Uther treats them, would he react the same if he found her out or would he spare her because she was his ward. That seems like such an Uther thing to do, kill innocent people for unknowingly harbouring a sorcerer and when he himself harbours one, cries enchantments. The great hypocrite. It would be so much easier if he weren't king, if he were dead.

Morgana shook her head, She shouldn't be thinking like that, he had taken care of her for most of her life, she owed him gratitude. Despite those thoughts, she couldn't help hoping that he would fall ill. Something inside of her wanted him dead and, no matter what she did to suppress it, wouldn't go away.

She gave Merlin a hug, thanked him and left, making her way back to her room. When she slipped back into her bed, she dreamed of the king, of breaking him, driving him insane, breaking his heart and finally, after torturing him mentally, finally putting his mind to rest.

When she woke up the next morning, despite being horrified, a part of her, deep in the back of her mind, was triumphant, she had finally killed him, even if it wasn't real. She was so confused, she cared for Uther, perhaps not like a father but rather an uncle but something was rejoicing at his death. She again felt like this wasn't just a dream but rather a memory, a desire and a future. She desperately needed someone to help her. She couldn't end up so sadistic that she laughed about a mans death, could she?


	3. Chapter 3

**First of all I am so, so, so sorry for the delay. I went on a three week trip with my friend and before that I was studying for finals which were canceled.**

**Second, a HUGE thank you to procrastinationismycrime who edited this and helped fatten it up for reading while I was away. You've been amazing!**

**I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up as I am going on vacation again coming up. I will do my absolute best not to take as long as I did this time.**

**Enjoy**

Taliesin jolted upright, breath coming in shaky gasps. He had just felt the destiny of hundreds of people change. People who were meant to live would die, people who were meant to die, live. The spirit searched around in his mind to find the cause. Every very source of magic in the whole world flowed through him as though the magic reported to an entity. Taliesin just had to find one connected to the disturbance. Searching through his mind, going through manydifferent magic sources when he finally found the cause of this rather large problem. Morgause, the one who would lead Morgana on the path of darkness and hatred, was gone. Dead. Who could have done such a thing? He searched a little harder and found the perpetrator; it was the legendary Emrys.

As he quickly pulled himself out of the meditating and looked around, gathering his bearings. It only took a moment to realise he was in front of the crystal cave. Taliesin took off running through the forest, his magic guiding him, keeping him from going astray; he had to find Emrys. Emrys had a second chance to right his wrongs, to complete his destiny the way he was supposed to. Taliesin would see it happen even if it would cost him his existence.

* * *

Hiding in his room from curious eyes Merlin couldn't be happier.

"There, like that." Merlin smiled encouragingly, joyful to be practicing magic without fear of rejection.

Morgana laughed cheerfully, she had finally managed to make a book soar across the room into her waiting arms using magic. It made her smile, for she had believed no one could help her. She hadn't know for certain she had magic, but those nightmares that plague her for years couldn't have been normal and she considered it quite likely that Uther would give an appointment with the chopping block, dare she say anything.

"You are so selfless, Merlin," She grinned before throwing her arms around his neck. Merlin looked startled but eventually chuckled and returned the hug. "Thank you for everything,"

Suddenly the door began creaking open, Morgana and Merlin hastily jumped apart fearing the worst. In her shock, Morgana dropped the magically suspended book in the process making it land at her feet with a thunk on the wooden floor.

Gaius walked in and was soon laughing at the pair as though they were mimicking a startled stout, before he stooped down to pick up the book.

"I take it you've been practicing?" the aged man directed at Morgana. Morgana smiled and nodded with happiness shining in her eyes. She proceeded to magic the book from Gaius' hands into her own.

Impressed with her progress Gaius chuckled lightly "Very good, dear."

The three had become much closer in the past few weeks. Each helping Morgana gain control over her magic. Morgana, who had taken pity on Merlin as Arthur was slave driving the warlock, had begun helping Merlin with his chores, which have them time to practice the prohibited art further. Even Gwen had started coming over after work just to spend time with her friends, as her work strangely shrunk to a smaller load.

Merlin was smiling at Gaius and Morgana when he suddenly looked up in surprise. He sensed the presence of magic, pure magic. Un-touched, un-tainted. Merlin gasped as this pure magic washed over him, Morgana and Gaius looked at him questioningly, Morgana's head tilted to one side.

Shaking his head the warlock signaled all was fine and any concern was unwarranted. "Someone's here, a magic user. I can sense them. It's almost as if they want me to."

Gaius groaned as he rubbed his temples as he felt an oncoming headache. "Merlin, you mustn't go alone. It could be dangerous," he implored to his ward.

"But that's why I have to go. Besides, they won't hurt me. I know it," Merlin took off running without looking back.

"You're going to be the death of me," the physician muttered under his breath.

The castle staff were quite used to the sight of the gangly man running down the hall, however a new servant nearly dropped her freshly cleaned laundry as Merlin came around a corner "Sorry!" he called over his shoulder, nearly knocking someone else over in the process. Once out of the courtyard and into the lower town Merlin was forced to slow down to a brisk walk until he reached the outer gatehouse where he broke into a run, pasting the guards on duty and waved cheerily as he recognized them. They smiled and let him continue unhindered, watching the man dash into the forest.

Merlin entered the forest and saw an old man pacing just within the clearance of the trees. He stopped, the old man looked strangely familiar but he would have known if he had met this man before.

Taliesin stopped pacing when he felt the magic of Emrys draw near. Turning around the spirit looked at the young man and wanted to chuckle. This young man had such an important destiny and yet he was so young, and had far to go before becoming the warlock he was destined to be. Rather large ears stuck out from a mess of black hair. He had a rather skinny frame, looking rather malnourished, draped in a large blue shirt, brown pants and a red neckerchief. His cheekbones were very prominent with his eyes shining a pure dark blue. Taliesin's eyes twinkled, the only sign of how funny he found this boy's appearance.

"Ah and you must be Emrys." Taliesin said sounding much like Gaius. Merlin looked uncomfortable, the name always made him feel out of place amongst other magic users.

"It's Merlin, actually." Merlin corrected as he was playing with the hem of his shirt.

"But the druids call you Emrys?" Taliesin knew already who he was, he could sense the magic radiating off of him. The young man was pure magic, uncorrupted.

Merlin raised his eyes to meet Taliesin's own, before nodding in confirmation. "What is this about?" Merlin asked, suddenly very nervous from the off-kilter scenario before him.

Taliesin peered at the young man. "It is about the woman; Morgause."

His heart sank in guilt as he remembered witnessing her death. The one he had inadvertently killed. "I didn't think Arthur would actually kill her, I swear. I just meant to give him an advantage in the fight, she would have killed him." Merlin nearly shouted defensively.

Taliesin chuckled. "Do not worry yourself, Merlin. What you did may eventually lead to suffering but essentially will lead to your ultimate happiness." The unique warlock was staring, rather confused. Many magic users would be furious at such a deed.

"What do you mean?" Merlin had his head cocked to one side, much like Morgana had done in Gaius' chambers.

"Merlin, the tale I am about to tell you is one of great suffering and sorrow. I will tell you this, it became impossible with the death of Morgause." Taliesin looked at Merlin for permission to continue. Merlin nodded his head, understanding Taliesin's wish.

Taliesin proceeded to tell Merlin of the events that took place in another life. He told him of Morgana discovering that Morgause was her long lost sister, of Morgana and Morgause putting the whole of Camelot to sleep and of Merlin's greatest mistake. Poisoning Morgana.  
Merlin was horrified to learn of what he had done to Morgana whom he now considered one of his closest friends. How could he have done that to her when she was so alone, all she had wanted was a friend, someone who understood her. He had been right there, why hadn't he revealed himself?

Taliesin looked at Merlin and saw turmoil rolling within his eyes. The young man was very wrapped up in his thoughts, which quickly made Taliesin's decision for him; he had given Merlin enough to think about for today.  
"Merlin, come to me in two days' time at nightfall, and I shall continue this story." Merlin looked up only to see the forest. Taliesin had vanished. Merlin looked over his shoulders, spooked and took off running back to Camelot.

* * *

"Merlin!" a woman cried in relief. The man in question was nearly knocked over by what seemed to be a flurry of long black hair and a silky blue dress. Merlin looked down at Morgana and chuckled as she held onto him tightly.  
"Oh I was so worried." The black-haired beauty continued, not moving an inch. Morgana still hadn't let go of his torso, he noticed with amusement.

"Morgana, it's okay. He didn't try to hurt me," he insured her with a smile.

"Then what did he want?" the now confused witch asked.

Although she hadn't seen it, Merlin hesitated at the choice before him. He still wasn't sure if he should tell Morgana or not. What he had done to her, even in a past life, might scare her away and he really enjoyed her someone like Morgana know about his magic and to truly understand magic was something he'd wished for from the very beginning, and didn't intend to lose.

"He just wanted to know if there were any magic users in the castle." Merlin was lying through his teeth and he felt awful about it but he knew it was the right thing to do. Morgana finally let go of Merlin. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can we get back to practising then?" Merlin laughed at her obvious attachment. "Here, let me teach you a spell," he added as he made the pages of his book flip quickly until stopping at a basic spell.

* * *

The next day he awoke to Gwen hurrying into Gaius' chambers.

"Merlin!" She whispered, shaking him. Merlin blinked rapidly, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes.

"Gwen? What is it?" He asked between yawns. Gwen's eyes were wide.

"You're late for work, Arthur's angry and he'll be here any second," the dark blue eyes opened a little wider, but still looked a bit confused.

Looking at her funny Merlin struggled to understand the issue "Gwen, why is that such a problem? I've been late before."

"Because you'll have to explain what you're doing sleeping with the Lady Morgana." Gwen looked panicky. Merlin jumped up, knocking the aforementioned beauty onto the ground in the process. The table was covered in magic books. They had obviously fallen asleep on the cot for patients while practising. Gwen luckily hadn't noticed the spell books.

Hitting two birds with one stone, he took control of the situation. "Morgana, Gwen, get into my room and stay in there until Arthur and I are out." Morgana looked confused, still half asleep but Gwen helped her up the stairs into Merlin's room. Merlin's door had only just shut when Arthur burst in without knocking. Merlin was tempted to point it out but didn't want to give Arthur a reason for more chores than what he already had planned.

"Merlin. You're up." He said, half surprised. The skinny man looked around for some explanation.

"I was... I um... I... Just got back from the tavern?" Merlin ended it almost like a question for he wasn't sure if Arthur was thick enough to buy it. Arthur shrugged not looking fazed.

"I'm not surprised really." Arthur laughed mockingly. The servant pouted.

"Okay Arthur, load on the chores. I don't doubt that you will give me extra for this." Merlin scowled. Arthur looked confused for a moment.

"Today must be your lucky day then, Merlin. There really isn't much for you to do. Muck out the stables then take the rest of the day off." Arthur was smiling. Merlin stood there shocked. He looked at Arthur suspiciously. What was causing him to be so generous?

"Quit standing there like a bloody fish Merlin. Go muck out the stables before I find more chores for you to do." Merlin took off faster than Arthur had ever seen him run. He must really be in need of a day off.

Arthur laughed at the retreating back of his best friend. Wait what? They weren't best friends, what caused him to think that? But there it was again, that overwhelming sense of familiarity. Arthur doubled over, clutching his head. He saw a thousand images in a single second. Thousands of laughs, of jokes, teasing, of betrayal, of friendship, of trust, and finally of himself dying in Merlin's arms. Arthur shook his head as though trying to rid his ears of water. That was insane. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something vital.

* * *

Merlin laughed, he had finished mucking out the stables in record time. Without looking back Merlin made for the dark area behind the stables, under the pretense of storing the fork, and with a quick mutter, was free of manure along with the absence of its smell. However the manual labor had made him quite sweaty on this rather hot day, and as he came out from behind the stable he wiped the droplets from his brow and started walking through Camelot. He decided to walk past the tavern as it was a very hot day and taking that route would ensure the most shade.

Strolling through the town, the servant was enjoying the sunlight when he heard a muffled cry. He followed the sound and came across a small cart where, crouched inside was a girl. She was young but not much younger than himself. Her mouth was bound with a rope that cut into the skin around her mouth, where a little blood trickled down the side. Covered in bruises and dirt; her hair greasy and muddy, a tattered red dress sported many rips and tears; and it was a wonder that it still covered her. The girl looked at him pleadingly as he took in her form, it was the sadness in her eyes that made him decide. Glancing over his shoulder and seeing no one, Merlin reached through the bars of the cage and untied the rope around her mouth.

"Who are you?" Merlin asked as he healed the cut lip. The girl looked at him sadly.

"My name is Freya."


End file.
